Like most companies, Canon had humble beginnings -in a Japanese laboratory room in 1933 to be exact. The lab was actually an apartment room in Roppongi, Tokyo and at the time, just about all cameras came from Europe -more specifically Germany. A year later came the birth of the prototype camera, Kwanon. In 1935, the company released its first official camera, a 35mm focal-plane-shutter camera called the Hansa Canon and the Canon company was born.
It wasn't too long before Canon decided to go global. In 1955 they opened an office in Lake Success, New York. After much success, the company realized they needed to have more than just Canon USA cameras. In order to truly go global, they needed to expand to Europe. Two years later they set up a European distributor in Switzerland. Within ten years, 50% of their sales were exports.
Canon prides itself as a leader in technology and they realized early on that they wanted to expand into other markets. In 1941 they built an indirect X-ray camera and in the 1960s they stated, "Cameras in the right hand, business machines in the left." The company was actually called Canon Camera Co., Inc but quickly changed their name to just Canon, Inc. Despite trying to focus their efforts on different technologies, they never abandoned their developments in excellent cameras.
In 1959 they developed the world's first camcorder with a zoom lens. When SLR cameras were first introduced in the 1960s, Canon quickly responded with the Canon Pellix. After that, Canon knew it wanted to focus on both professionals and advanced amateurs. The 70's and 80's were a time of fierce competition between the major SLR brands: Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Pentax, and Olympus. Canon was desperate to beat Nikon and in 1976 they created the AE-1, the first SLR camera to use a built-in microcomputer. If that wasn't impressive enough, it sold over 5 million units -a huge accomplishment for a camera.
New Nikon cameras and Minolta cameras were released in 1985 and 1986 and Canon quickly went back to development. In 1987 they released the EOS 650, offering unique and innovative features. It featured BASIS, a highly sensitive focusing sensor. The popular EOS line continued to advance throughout the years and is currently a staple in their product line. As the world began to enter into the age of digital cameras, so did Canon.
Although Canon still prides itself in making office equipment and other electronics, Canon is still known primarily for their digital cameras. They offer a large selection of both advanced DSLR cameras and Canon compact digital cameras. Their A-Series is geared towards those looking for simple point and shoot cameras. The Digital ELPH cameras are great for those who want simplicity and a few extra features to get better quality shots. Their DSLR cameras are used by many professionals today and the name Canon has become synonymous with quality and integrity. So whether you're looking to buy refurbished Canon cameras or brand new, you can rest assured that you're receiving a top of the line camera.
Author Resource:-
The Camera Box sells refurbished Nikon cameras and refurbished Canon cameras for great prices. If you're looking for discount Canon digital cameras or the best Nikon cameras, the Camera Box can help.
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